by R. Daniel Mann Question: My family will be at my parents’ house for Shabbat Chanuka and will be leaving there for home (an hour commute) relatively soon after Shabbat. Where should I light Chanuka candles? Answer: An achsenai (guest) is obligated to light unless his family lights on his behalf at...

by Joel Rich Rabbi Sobolofsky: Shev Shmaasa I’ve been fascinated for a long time by rov, chazakah, karov, vadaii, safeik, Hachraah …… I can’t say I have clarity but I’m working on it J http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/760518/rabbi-zvi-sobolofsky/shev-shmaysa-sugyos-(sfeika-draissa-lchumra...

by R. Gil Student I. Whose Oil? Around 150 years ago, a Warsaw rabbi attempted to introduce a new chumra, a stringency regarding Chanukah lights. The reason for rejecting his proposal offers insight into the nature of family and community. In his Talmudic commentary Zeikher Yehosef (Warsaw, 1859; Sh...

by Joel Rich Question: I note that the S”A O”C 158:10 (Hand Washing) quotes the Gemara (R’Chisda) in support of using more than the minimum required amount of water for hand washing. Given the Mechaber’s goal that the Shulchan Aruch be a halachic summary of his magnum opus, the Beit Yosef, does anyo...

by R. Gidon Rothstein Pharaoh’s Dream For all the detail in Yosef’s interpretation of Par’oh’s dream, Ramban lays out correspondences between the dream and the meaning that are not made explicit in the Torah. On 41;2, Par’oh sees the fat cows coming out of the Nile, which Ramban says was because tha...

by Dr. Arnold Lustiger This treatment of the Rav’s ideas regarding Shechinah and LeShem Yichud is necessarily brief. For more detail, see the Volume 15 of the Torah UMadda Journal “The Kabbalistic Underpinnings of U-vikkashtem mi-sham” Last week, Gil examined the term Shekhinah and the LeShem Yihud...